1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to improvements in a recirculating bearing assembly and improved methods of making such a bearing assembly. In particular, the present invention is directed to a linear recirculating bearing assembly having high quality and performance characteristics, but low manufacturing costs.
2. Background Art
Several types of recirculating bearings are known in the prior art as described in the Bearing patent I.
In many bearing assemblies of the prior art, such bearings typically have multiple machined pieces or components which must be accurately manufactured and precisely fit together to achieve design standards. Frequently, the designs call for different surfaces on different components to be parallel and/or flat to a very precise level.
Further, the prior art bearing systems typically include a substantial number of high precision discrete components, each of which must be manufactured, inspected, inventoried and assembled separately.
As a further limitation of prior art systems, frequently all components must be made of a high precision, expensive-to-form material which is heavy, such as bearing steel. While such systems provide high quality and generally long life and resist environment and other degrading forces, the cost of manufacturing such systems is higher than necessary. Such materials add cost and weight to the component, which is not desirable.
Many examples of linear recirculating bearings are known in the prior art, these generally have one or more of the foregoing limitations or disadvantages, either bearing cost, or weight or poor performance or difficulty of manufacture, which makes them undesirable.
Accordingly, the prior art bearing assemblies have limitations, generally described in terms of performance and or manufacturing cost. Advantageously, manufacturing of bearing components and their assembly would be simplified.